Plastic Flowers
by lesilec
Summary: Cassie, now the only animorph left on Earth, has been blamed for the disappearance of her companions. Crayak gives her a choice. A chance to save her friends, or continued misery on Earth. He, however, has his own hidden agenda.
1. My name is Cassie

I've noticed an abundance of continued storylines that divert from the actual story, that Ax is presumably dead, and that the others are caught in some deep shit. Not that there have not been fics that have used the real storyline, but I prefer to read fics that keep true to K.A. Applegate's works. See and be amazed.

Any and all reviews are appreciated. Rating may rise later on.

-----silec

* * *

They'd been gone a long time. Four years now, with not a trace of where they were. Even now, I hoped, I worried, pushing away my own common sense that persisted in its relentless, hateful logic. They were dead. I could feel it in my heart. And yet I refused to acknowledge even the possibility. At my own expense. At the expense of my live, my livelihood, I would never let go of them.

I had lost nearly everything. Rather than allow myself to believe that he was gone, like everything else I held dear, I would pretend it was somehow his fault. I was not the one who let him leave. I was not the one who let him go, even though I loved him, even though I knew he still loved me. The loss of my position with the government and with the Hork-Bajir people, the loss of Ronnie, was Jake's fault. If I could keep blaming Jake, he would miraculously appear in front of me and I could blame him in person.

But it was all my fault, of course. I was the one who had acted like a child. However, the government, U.S., Andalite, and Hork-Bajir, had not lost all interest in me. I was now their personal handyman. It was not a job I enjoyed very much. Much of it involved travelling from one planet to the next resolving trivial disputes between them. A job that was in no way suitable for an animorph, but one that was deemed apt for Cassie, the weak animorph. Cassie, the humane killer. Cassie, whose very devotion to humanity's side in the war was being questioned, with the newfound knowledge that it was I who had given the Yeerks the morphing cube towards the end of the war.

Rachel was the one who they all loved. Rachel was the martyr. They had erected a huge statue of her at the capital, in addition to her own memorial, which consumed a good few acres on its own. And it was now the consensus across the galaxy that I was the one who had killed her. When the news about Ax and the others would break out, inevitably, I would be condemned for that as well.

It didn't matter much. My superiors wouldn't hurt me. I was a good little worker bee. They allowed me to spend my free time doing whatever I wanted.

Right then I was tending to a small camp I had set on the edge of the expansive Hork-Bajir wilderness. A camouflage green tent, a few bags, and a fire, nothing more. Toby had called me there so she could talk to me. Nothing out of the ordinary. While the others of her kind shared the feelings of the humans towards me, she remained a good friend.

I heard a rustling in the trees above me. My head shot up, scanning the distant redwood treetops and the flickering night sky overhead. I was cautious in this area, always. There, in a tree just beside me. Movement! I tensed, sensing the wolf in my veins and preparing for battle. Standing on a trembling branch, I saw the golden Hork-Bajir eyes, watching me. The deadly green blades. Its tail whipped in challenge, slicing open the trunk of the enormous tree. "Human traitor!" The branch reverberated in a blur as the Hork-Bajir leapt off of it. It was suspended in the air for a few seconds, then hurtled towards the ground as gravity kicked in.

I dived behind my tent and began the morph. It had been some time since I had used it, but the changes came naturally. Fear quickened the transformation. In seconds the thick fur had traveled up and down my skin, and the wolf's senses entered my mind. I heard the loud thud of the Hork-Bajir landing on the leaf-covered autumn ground. Before it could ambush me, I jumped over the tent and met the Hork- Bajir. Baring my teeth, I circled slowly around her. She laughed at me.

Her? I stopped myself, and examined her closely. It was Toby. She stood, a hulking eight feet tall, muscular alien arms crossed, and cackling. I demorphed quickly and brushed the debris from my hands and feet. "Very funny, Toby." She was still laughing. I dropped down next to the fire and poked at it with the long stick that lay at its side.

"Come on, knock it off." She coughed a few times, expelled the last of her laughter, and sat down beside me. Toby had grown so much in the time that I had known her. After the final battle against the Yeerks aboard the pool ship, she was left as one of the few adults among the Hork-Bajir. She had a mate, now, and a small son. Toby was the only seer in her valley, and without anyone else of her intelligence to talk to now. Sometimes she appeared sad or lonely, but whatever pain she felt was instantly erased whenever she spoke of her family. I had never seen them, and probably never would. Toby had tried to explain my innocence to her people, but they would not listen. The Hork- Bajir had their own opinions, and I would not try to change them.

"So, what's going on? Why did you call me here?" As I spoke, she absentmindedly scraped at the rotted log that I was sitting on. Her eyes snapped up.

"There's something going on at the southern end of our valley, Cassie. Andalite and human soldiers have been arriving every day. They're setting up some kind of spacecraft. I've tried to investigate, but they've got weapons surrounding the perimeter of the work area. I'm not going to send any of my own to search, either." She picked at the log until a small, tender piece fell into the dirt.

"So you want me to check it out for you, huh?" She nodded, nibbling on the strip.

"Anything I need to know? Special requests?" She shook her head. "I trust your judgment, Cassie, even if no one else does. Whatever you think is best. But please try not to get the Hork-Bajir involved. They've seen enough." I closed my eyes for a moment, then reopened them.

"Toby, what do you--" Toby was no longer beside me. I looked to the skies. A single tree branch quivered, and a short gust pushed the leaves apart. She was gone.


	2. Chapter 1

It's never good to blame, I mean, um, credit, the quality of your work on a sugar rush or insomnia or some such nonsense. Still, this chapter left me scratching my head quite a bit. I paid a visit to my new high school today and was lost for almost an hour trying to find the bathroom. I must remember, next time, to use entrance A to go through the lunch room to go up staircase Z to the third floor then follow hallway O till I get to staircase J then turn right. How stupid of me. Anyway, the whole experience left me tired and confused. /end-scapegoating

----silec

* * *

I was high above Hork-Bajir country. The owl's wings beat hard to keep me afloat against the strong winds pushing me back. I was also unbelievably exhausted.But I couldn't think about that right now. Falling asleep would get me killed, either from the fall or from the sleeping but still deadly Hork- Bajir down on the ground. So I pressed forward, even when my head began to pound and my wings shot pain throughout my veins. I started thinking about Tobias. He would not have had as hard a time. This would have been easy for him. But Tobias was not there, and he was quite possibly dead. It was dark and moonless, too dark for human eyes to see clearly. But I didn't have human eyes. The owl could see everything perfectly, each blade of grass, the stripped trees, and my destination, an out-of-place conglomeration of metal in the distance, beyond the trees and wildlife, but not yet in civilization. I noticed the weapons Toby had spoken of. Mostly shredders or recovered dracon beams, but a few human weapons were placed on turrets around the machine and the human and andalite campsites. Maybe they wouldn't fire at a passing owl. I wasn't willing to test it. 

I landed with a small adjustment of my wings in a bush just outside the compound. I was tired. So tired. Even before the demorphing, I brought up the image of a fly in my mind, concentrated on what I wanted. Translucent wings emerged from my back. I looked like a particularly strange fairy. Always a show-off, even if no one was there to care about it.

I let the rest of the changes come naturally. The prickly, disgusting exterior of the fly replaced my own human skin. As I shrank down to my appropriate insect height, I felt a squeamish movement. My organs were changing. My eyes split into compound vision, and I flew off.

The body was new, rejuvenated, fresh. My mind was not, though. If I wasn't careful, I could end up dead. No different from any other animorph mission. But I was alone this time. No one to rescue my sorry ass if I ended up in trouble.

I checked my surroundings. It's more difficult than it sounds, especially when you're smaller than a matchbook. But I didn't see any movement, and made my way towards the spacecraft. There was no reaction from the shredders when I breached the perimeter. I was safe, for now.

A thick haze filled my brain. I was falling asleep. Get it together, Cassie, I mumbled. I had been so stupid to go through with the mission so soon. I'd barely planned it, and I'd already had a full day beforehand. Stupid. There was no turning back now. Why had I been so impatient?

I touched down vertically on cold metal. I could see the angular, interconnected text of the Andalite language beneath my feet. There was a gaping hole next to me. The open edge of a closed door. Slow breezes that passed into the ship felt like hurricanes to me. I dug into the metal and hung on for dear life.

The gap was just big enough for me to squeeze into. Once inside, I was enveloped in darkness. The fly was useless here. I demorphed, and padded my way around the dim room while my eyes adjusted. The airless interior felt hot and smothering. Beads of sweat dripped into my eyes. I blinked them away and continued feeling around on hands and knees.

The floor was the same flat metal until a certain point. There was a slight dip, then it became wet and rugged. I smoothed my hands around the strange material. I brought my fingers to my nose. Like rain and wood and dirt. It was grass. The ship had been designed for Andalites. Of course.

My eyes were somewhat better now. I could dimly see the blue-green of the Andalite grasses I was kneeling on. The area behind me, towards the entrance, was impossible to see. It seemed to go on forever. In all other directions there were blinking control panels. At the front, there were a few seats for humans bolted to the ground, and one large computer screen.

I stood up. The grass clung to my palms. My bare knees felt wet. I gravitated towards the left wall and felt my way to the control panel. The computer screen was just in front of me. It was off, there was nothing displayed on it. The chairs looked soft and inviting. I lowered myself into one. It turned, squeaking from my weight. The plastic stuck to my legs. I peered into the screen, seeing my reflection, then reached out to touch it.

I felt a sharp buzz in my fingertips. I pulled my hand away and let out a tiny yelp. When the pain faded, I realized what I had done, and hoped the people outside were not awakened.

Suddenly, a blinding white light clicked on, illuminating the entire ship. My eyes erupted in spasms, but I was too frightened to give notice. The controls powered on, a wave of energy starting on both sides that met in the center, at the screen. The monitor flickered to life, at first as a colorful blur, then slowly focused. It was acting as a window.

I could see outside, how the sun was beginning to rise. A hawk passed into the treetops, diving at some poor animal that would soon be its lunch. And there, looking right back at me, were seven armed Andalite warriors. There were humans, too, yelling something at me. There was no sound, I couldn't pick up what they were saying. But I could hear the Andalites. They weren't very happy with me. Not at all.

The floor rumbled, and I heard shooting at the entrance. I whipped my head around just in time to see a blue tail tear the door away, letting in the morning sunshine. I was already halfway into wolf morph. The Andalite stepped inside. He held a shredder, pointing it in all directions. When he saw me, all four of his eyes widened. He was scared.

I jumped from the chair, now completely morphed. He fired at me. Maybe he wasn't so scared anymore. The shot missed me by a mile, but the smoldering wiring singed the fur on my rear legs.

You! The betrayer! he cried out in thought-speak. Apparently he recognized me. While his shaking hands tried to take aim at me again, I bounded across the ship and had my teeth around his arm before he could fire.

Help me, you fools! he screamed at his comrades outside. No doubt the others heard all the commotion, but the door was only big enough the fit one or two of them at a time. Their friend, the one whose arm was now bleeding into my throat, made it impossibly for anyone else to get in while he bucked and scampered about the ship in vain. I pushed him out the door and threw him off the ship.

Now I had a bigger problem. More than a dozen guns were aimed at me. I heard a faint sound in the trees. My ears pricked up and I scanned the horizon. There she was, leaping across the treetops. Not just her, but quite a few of her people following close behind.

When Toby was close enough, she jumped to the ground. _Thud_. Just after her were the other Hork-Bajir. _Thudthudthudthud_. She was on them in seconds. A brave Andalite met her at the perimeter, mounted shredders firing maniacally. The Hork-Bajir shrugged them off.

Toby gave little regard to the Andalite, clotheslining him with an unbladed section of her arm before moving on to the next brave, cowering soul. Neither side was prepared for a battle like this, but many of the humans had never seen a Hork-Bajir. That alone gave Toby's people an advantage.

"Cassie, run!" Toby shouted, butting together the heads of two humans.

Are you sure? She nodded and grinned at me, sending one man screaming into the woods. I was off and running in a flash. I demorphed and waited for Toby, hidden in a thicket of bushes. It wasn't long before I gave in and fell asleep.

I was vaguely aware of being jarred awake and lifted up from the ground. "Cassie, wake up." Toby shook me. "Cassie, please, wake up!" I opened my eyes. She looked like she was going to cry, although it was impossible for a Hork-Bajir.

I stretched, still groggy. I had been out for a while. "What happened?"

Toby glanced over her shoulder. There was something there, something she was trying to hide from me. "Most of the humans ran away. The Andalites morphed, we don't know where they went, but, Cassie..."

DON'T STRAIN YOURSELF, HORK-BAJIR, I CAN TELL HER MYSELF. Gently, Toby set me down on the ground, then turned and ran.

Standing there was an old enemy. His booming, metallic voice rang in my ears. We had caused him so much trouble in the past. Trouble, and nothing more. Powerful forces had battled him for countless millenia and still, it never seemed to hurt him at all.

"Crayak." I spit the word out. He only looked bored. "If you're going to kill me, do it, then."

AS MUCH AS I'D ENJOY THAT, THAT WOULD GO AGAINST THE RULES. NO, I'M NOT HERE FOR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. I stood, trying to appear strong and defiant. The giant eye bore a hole into my skull. "Then what is it? If it's Jake you want, he's gone."

I HAVE A PROPOSAL FOR YOU. I smirked. "Oh? And what would that be?"

He spread his arms wide. I could almost see a smile on the face of the creature. AN OPPORTUNITY. I'M WILLING TO GIVE YOU THE NECESSARY EQUIPMENT TO GO OUT AND FIND YOUR FRIENDS.

"How do I know this isn't a trick?" Crayak touched my shoulder. It felt like acid. WHAT'S WRONG? YOU'RE NOT GOING TO TRUST ME?

"Why should I?"

THINK, FOR A MOMENT, ABOUT WHAT YOU'VE JUST DONE. YOU'VE ATTACKED A PEACEFUL GROUP OF HUMANS AND ANDALITES. DO YOU THINK THE PEOPLE WILL JUST FORGET ABOUT IT? DO YOU THINK THEY'LL FORGET ABOUT WHAT YOU DID TO--

"I never did anything to her! Never!" He didn't say anything. He didn't need to, because he was right.

I stared at my feet. We'd never learned to morph shoes. All those battles, the fear and the violence and the hardship we went through, and yet we'd never learned to morph anything but t-shirts and bike shorts.

I felt young again. We had been toyed with before, as animorphs. If not by creatures in the heads of our loved ones, then by our own emotions. After the war, as I became an adult, I thought I was in control. That I was the only one who would make my decisions.

"Why does it have to be me?" Tears fell from my eyes. The dirt on my feet turned to mud. "Why does it have to be my fault again? Pick somebody else. I can't do it."

YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE. THE ELLIMIST AND I, OUR GAME IS CONSTANT. EVERY SECOND WASTED, CRITICAL MOVES ARE BEING MADE OF THEIR OWN VOLITION. Jake would have said no. He'd have lead us to victory against the big, mean monster, and had us home by dinner. And, without our knowing it, the entire universe would be one step closer to the annihilation of evil.

I was not Jake. I was not strong and courageous and all the things that I should have been all those years.

I agreed to Crayak's proposal. He allowed me a crew of three, anyone I wanted. I had two days. I surrendered to him, not because I wanted to be the hero of all that is right and good, but because I was still that silly little girl who would give anything to have a boy tell me he loved me still.

I was Cassie. The weak animorph. The traitor.


	3. Chapter 2

I was drifting in an endless ocean, carried by the current. I fell deeper and deeper, the twinkling light of the sun overhead slowly dimming as I went down into the blue. A school of small, silvery fish enveloped me. They brushed up against my skin, a soothing wave, smooth and cool and scaly. It felt so strange. I could feel the water pressing all around my body, crushing my lungs and my frail human skeleton. And yet it was so calm. I closed my eyes and smiled, at peace. I could die there and nobody would ever find me. No one would ever be able to bother me again. Never, ever. 

I reached an end. My back hit the ocean floor, knocking the remaining air from my injured lungs. My spine erupted in pain. I heard a small crack that seemed dull and far away.

A group of dolphins moved in a slow circle around me. One, two, three, four, five dolphins. One of them nudged me in the arm. I tried to wave it away, but my arm was stiff and immobile. There were voices in my head, yelling things to me. It was annoying. Cassie, demorph! Do it now!

I opened my mouth to laugh at the dolphins. Salty water poured into my throat. There isn't much time, you have to demorph! It was Jake. Jake was the dolphin? What? That was crazy. He was a crazy dolphin telling me to do silly things.

I tried to say, "I am human Cassie." It was hard to talk now. I needed more air. The dolphins were still yelling in my head. I tried again. "I am Cassie."

The words weren't coming out. So I took a deep breath.

I woke up in a cold sweat. My own bed. My own soft bed in my own home, not an ocean. I leaned up against the headboard and tried to calm down.

It was still dark. I reached out to the bedside table, searching, but feeling nothing. My hand waved in the empty air for a few seconds before I remembered. The lamp. It wasn't mine. It had never been mine. It had been Ronnie's, and he had taken it along with everything else he decided was his.

I sat up and glanced at what remained on the table. There were a few memos strewn about, and a digital clock. Three numbers. That magical period of time where it's too late to get back into bed but too early to do anything else.

I opted for the former view and dragged myself out of the covers. I recalled stumbling into the room late the previous night. My clothing lay in a pile at the door. I kicked it aside as I passed through.

Coffee. My blood screamed for it. Down in the kitchen, I flung open various cabinet doors before I remembered, that, too, had been Ronnie's. Damn. I slammed them closed and went off in search of my shoes.

Outside, there was a faint blue light present. I looked out across my small yard. My feet crushed the dead grass and lingering dandelions. I missed my childhood home. I missed the expanses and the wide, green fields. Most of all, I missed the animals. All I had was the hot concrete, and the constant, excruciating caffeine headaches. The streets beyond my own were empty of traffic. But there would be a place open. There had to be.

I was a mess. My hair was tangled and unkempt, and I hadn't changed out of the blue bathrobe I had worn to bed. Still, I glared at the young male cashier when he hesitated to ring up my coffee. The few other customers kept their eyes fastened to their mugs. Someone cleared his throat more than once. I took a long drag from the Styrofoam cup. It was going to be a long day.

I got home around the time when I would normally have been waking up. I threw the keys off into a corner of the living room and sat down at my computer. Work. Things to do. Long, boring, monotonous things.

There was a message from the Andalite Electorate. Or, at least, from one of their temps. There had been a disturbance in an Earth-based camp that was to be the future site of a research facility. The idea had been to join humans and andalites together for the purpose of expanding each other's horizons. Togetherness and all that. They wanted me to make sure everything was going as planned. Wouldn't that be fun. I got another letter from the U.S. government that was to the same effect, with more threats and general unpleasantness.

I shut off the computer and balanced on the back legs of my chair. There were more calls. I really didn't feel like answering any of them. I contemplated visiting Toby and letting her know what I'd found out. I tried to consider who I'd want for Crayak's offer. That, too, felt like work, and I abandoned it.

I checked my answering machine. My parents had called, around the time I had been sneaking around the Hork-Bajir wilderness, trying to get home unseen. They were worried about me, again. They wanted to know if I was okay.

I didn't want to talk to them now. Or ever. They weren't completely sure if the rumors about me were true. All of their calls were a thinly veiled ploy to get me to confess something to them, and ultimately every newspaper with a pen.

These people were so full of shit. I closed my eyes and wondered just how bad it would be to die there, at the bottom of the ocean, and not have to deal with anyone anymore.


End file.
